THE Australian dollar is almost level against the greenback after strong US economic data and weak German jobs figures pulled the currency in opposite directions.

At 0630 AEST on Friday, the local unit was trading at 93.56 US cents, slightly up from 93.54 cents on Thursday.

The Australian market looks set to open lower after Wall Street ended a three day winning streak.

At 0649 AEST on Friday, the September share price index futures contract was down three points at 5,606.

ELSEWHERE:

WASHINGTON — US pending home sales rebounded last month to their highest levels in nearly a year, the National Association of Realtors says, in a report providing further evidence of a steadying housing market.

WASHINGTON — New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits fell last week, fresh evidence of improvement in the jobs market, official data shows.

FRANKFURT — Unemployment in Germany has stagnated in August, as clouds continue to build over Europe’s biggest economy.

KUALA LUMPUR — Crisis-stricken Malaysia Airlines says its second-quarter loss has nearly doubled as the loss of flight MH370 spurred a decline in bookings, warning the red ink would accelerate as the year wears on.

MADRID — Spain’s economy has grown by 0.6 per cent in the second quarter compared with output in the previous three months, the fastest rate since 2007 in a further sign of recovery from recession.

FRANKFURT — Thousands of air passengers in Germany face delays and cancellations ahead of the weekend as wage talks between pilots and Lufthansa’s low-cost subsidiary Germanwings collapsed.

PARIS — Air France pilots have threatened a five-day strike next month in protest at a major shake-up of the airline’s short and medium haul flights.